


Punishments and Penalties

by LdyBastet



Series: Red Pineapple Romance [6]
Category: Bleach
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-25
Updated: 2018-06-25
Packaged: 2019-05-28 13:31:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15050159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LdyBastet/pseuds/LdyBastet
Summary: It's time. Renji won't have to wait any longer to find out what his gigai's mischief is going to cost him.





	Punishments and Penalties

**Author's Note:**

> This is one of my old fics, that I'm now finally posting to the archive.
> 
>  **Disclaimer:** The characters and world of Bleach belongs to Kubo Tite. I've borrowed his characters to illustrate a very different scenario from what he'd write. No profit involved.

Renji was still holding the note in his hand when he reached the gate to the Kuchiki estate. It was all crumpled up now, of course, after he'd grabbed it so tightly, and in some places the ink was smeared by the moisture from his skin. After he'd tried to flatten it a bit, he shoved it inside his kimono and rubbed his palms over his thighs to dry them.

He'd never been so nervous before when he'd gone to Byakuya's home to leave a report or some other information about work, but this time was different. Very different. All the other times had happened before they went on that mission to the real world, before Renji's gigai had accosted Byakuya's... _Before Renji had wanked off in Kuchiki-Taichou's bathroom_ , a small, but insistent voice in the back of his head told him. It made all the difference in the world.

Byakuya had not killed him while they were still on the mission, and Renji hadn't understood why at first. Gradually, he'd realised that it had to be because of work ethics, or something; they had to finish the mission first. It wouldn't do to kill the fukutaichou before he'd done his work. So, Renji had dreaded going back home. But back home, nothing had happened either. He'd gone to work as usual, and Byakuya had been ignoring him, also as usual. But when all reports were written and filed, Renji had found a note addressed to him in Byakuya's flowing handwriting.

It had been the beginning of a very nervous afternoon.

It wasn't easy to work on reports, to write and spell everything correctly (some dots accidentally got little tails on them, and lines that were supposed to be thin and straight looked distinctly wobbly and blotchy) when his hands were shaking and his heart trying to escape his chest. Unlike his heart, though, Renji had no thought about actually trying to escape his fate. But that didn't make the wait for nightfall any easier.

Renji had been thinking about fortifying himself with a drink or two at the bar, but he couldn't stand the thought of facing Shuuhei or Ikkaku, or any of his other drinking buddies. They'd see something was wrong and start asking questions, but Renji had no answers to give them. He couldn't bloody well tell them everything, could he?

So, it was sober and sweating that Renji was shown into a large, almost empty room. Kuchiki Byakuya was sitting at a low table, and there was a cushion laid out on the tatami mat on the other side of the table, presumably for Renji. Renji tried to moisten his dry lips, but it made little difference.

"Taichou... Excuse me for intruding..." he muttered and bowed before stepping further into the room.

"Ah. Renji." Byakuya nodded. "Please sit down."

Renji knelt stiffly on the cushion while the servant served them both tea. Neither he nor Byakuya said anything before the servant had withdrawn and slid the door closed behind her.

Then Byakuya pushed a box of chocolate over the tabletop. "Try one," he said. "They go well with this tea."

Renji looked in slowly building horror at the box. It was not heart-shaped, and the paper protecting the pralines was not red, but the front of the box proudly proclaimed it to come from the very same shop that Renji had bought the box of chocolate that he'd placed on Byakuya's desk on Valentine's Day.

When Renji didn't move or even make a sound, Byakuya reached out to take one instead.

"It's amazing what a shop clerk can remember about their customers," he said. "Especially if the customer in question has a very distinctive appearance."

Renji swallowed hard. This was it. Not only was he going to be punished for what his gigai did back in the real world, it was time for retribution because of the Valentine's gift as well. He should have written at least a note to let Shuuhei know that he wanted the set of sake cups to go to him, Renji thought. It wasn't a very expensive set, but they were good cups, unchipped, and they'd had a lot of fun drinking from them. Too late now. Renji hoped Shuuhei would take them anyway.

"Taichou... I can explain..."

"No need to explain, Renji. It was simply a gift. You don't have to give reasons for giving gifts."

Renji blinked and slowly raised his head to look at Byakuya. "What?"

Byakuya lifted his tea cup, and Renji felt intensely frustrated that Byakuya was so calm. "Don't worry. I was just confirming what I already knew."

"What?" Renji said again. "You-- You knew? You _knew_ it was me and you never said anything, just letting me worry myself sick--"

"I didn't know you worried, Renji. Since you didn't come forward to claim responsibility for the gift, I assumed that you regretted it." Renji wondered if that was that a faint smile on Byakuya's lips. 

He shook his head. "You're wrong! I didn't regret it! I mean, I don't regret..." He slowly realised he'd fallen into a trap and in time with the realisation, a blush spread over his face.

"I see," Byakuya said. "You don't regret giving me chocolate on a day that humans apparently give such gifts to the one they ... like."

Renji found the effect of that little pause very disconcerting. It made the word _like_ sound almost perverted. But Byakuya didn't look offended. 

"Is there something you'd like to tell me, Renji?"

Renji shook his head. "No, Taichou," he whispered, looking down again.

"No? Hm, another time then, I guess." Renji saw Byakuya lift the tea cup from the table, but kept his eyes downcast. He couldn't bear the humiliation of first confessing his feelings and then have them rejected. It was better this way, not saying anything. Perhaps, in time, Byakuya would forget... or at least forgive him for his brazenness. In time... but did he have any time left?

The silence between them stretched out far too long, and to Renji, it felt as if it was pressuring him to say something, anything. Finally, he cleared his throat. "What about the gigai?" he asked then.

"What about them?"

Renji knew that Byakuya hadn't forgotten - he couldn't have - so this was just another way for Byakuya to make him uncomfortable, maybe a part of the punishment, he thought. "I'm still waiting for your verdict on that matter. Will I be disciplined officially, or do you intend to handle it within the division?" Renji raised his eyes to see Byakuya's reaction.

Byakuya looked thoughtful for a moment. "I thought I would handle that privately, in fact," he replied. 

"Privately?"

"Yes, as in you and me alone. No one else need be involved."

Renji nodded, feeling slightly relieved in a way. At least no one else was going to find out how he had disgraced his captain. But with that worry gone, another rose inside him: what would Byakuya do to him? Just how would he be disciplined? Was it going to leave scars? Disfigurement? No... then others would ask questions, wouldn't they? Renji swallowed hard.

"Taichou... I'll take any punishment you see fit. I'll-- Please forgive me, Taichou." Renji bowed.

"Any punishment?" Byakuya's voice was razor sharp, suddenly, and Renji looked up again. Byakuya's gaze pierced him.

"Yes, Taichou. Just..."

"Just? Is there something you would object to? Something you think is more than you deserve?"

The gap between them was painfully clear to Renji. It was like looking at Byakuya from across a wide, deep chasm. He'd been such a fool, even allowing himself to feel the way he did, to let his emotions grow without putting an end to them sooner. Kuchiki Byakuya was the bright star of the Gotei 13, a high noble, a famous captain; he was one of the strongest of all the shinigami, and probably the deadliest. And Renji was ... Renji. 

"No, Taichou," Renji whispered, blushing with shame and still feeling Byakuya's gaze like a heavy weight on him.

**

Byakuya almost felt sorry for his fukutaichou. Almost.

The shame and the regret he saw was clearly sincere, heartfelt. The slight tremble of Renji's hands, the nervous swallowing... It was like looking at a very shameful dog who knew he'd done something terrible, something that his master was angry about. This was no puppy-eye act that Renji pulled; he wasn't even trying to charm or talk his way out of this situation, and he hadn't done so even from the start.

Byakuya found himself having something of an urge to reach out and touch Renji, to steady him and tell him it was going to be all right. That in itself was quite worrying.

Renji had done something wrong, and it was Byakuya's duty to punish him. 

With the strange behaviour of Renji's replacement soul, things had taken an unexpected turn, and Byakuya's plan to play with Renji and torment him in little ways as a payback for the Valentine's gift and the apparent break-in at their office had to be changed, or perhaps hurried on. Now Byakuya had to deal with matters directly.

He could still remember the feeling of Renji's gigai's saliva drying on his own gigai's cock... Actually, it could just as well have been Renji's saliva on Byakuya's cock, because the gigai were perfect replicas of their own bodies. The sensation had been remarkably pleasant, and Byakuya's erection had not wavered during the walk back to the hotel, and not when they got back there either... Especially since he didn't have to guess what Renji was doing in the bathroom. It was a memory that had kept insinuating itself into Byakuya's thoughts since that day.

Byakuya looked at Renji's bowed head and wondered what he should do with him. Clearly, the punishment had to be firm, strict, and painful. Otherwise Renji would probably not consider himself properly chastised and be able to forgive himself and move past the incident. Guilt was not a good partner to loyalty, Byakuya thought. With a debt paid in full, guilt could find no home in a man's mind.

"Are you prepared to die, Renji?" Byakuya asked suddenly.

There was a sharp intake of breath and then Renji's shoulders slumped. "Yes, Taichou," he said quietly after only a moment's hesitation.

Byakuya nodded. So that was how gravely Renji looked at the incident. Did he really think that Byakuya's honour and dignity had received such a harsh blow from the actions of a wayward gigai? Perhaps his fukutaichou didn't know him as well as he should, Byakuya thought, or perhaps it was his feelings that made the quite humorous situation so devastating; the gigai had done what Renji had been able to only shamefully dream about.

"That won't be necessary," Byakuya replied softly. "But I am not going to be lenient."

Renji looked up at him again, a faint glimmer of hope in his eyes. "Thank you, Taichou. I'm looking forward to my punishment."

Byakuya held his gaze for a moment. "Yes, I think you actually do." He wondered briefly if he should tell Renji to come back the next week for his punishment, but thought better of it. It was probably wiser to get this over with as soon as possible so they could go back to their normal routine of Renji casting not so secret looks at Byakuya and Byakuya finding more ways to tease and annoy Renji. With this like a wall between them, it would be difficult working together.

"Tomorrow then," he said finally.

**

Renji braced himself for the worst - well, the second-worst, since he wasn't going to die. His hands balled into fists on his thighs.

"You'll start your service as my personal servant at 6am," Byakuya said. "You will wake me up in a pleasant manner - that means not being your usual self," he explained while Renji blinked, "and then you will serve me tea while breakfast is being prepared. The rest, I will tell you as I need your services."

Renji blinked again, not sure he'd heard this correctly. Byakuya looked calm, serious. There wasn't a hint of a smile on his face, not even that little look of smug satisfaction like when he'd almost fooled Renji into thinking he cut his hair with his zanpakutou. Byakuya was completely serious, Renji realised.

"That's my punishment?"

"Yes." 

"It's not very harsh, is it?"

Now, Byakuya smiled, and it was a feral, dangerous smile that made Renji wish he could put a little more distance between them without being impolite.

"I told you already I'm not going to be lenient. You don't want to make any mistakes."

"No, Taichou."

Very little else was said, and Renji soon found himself walking back home. He was relieved, elated. This was going to be over in a week's time! He'd work through his punishment, waiting on Byakuya hand and foot, and then his terrible indiscretion would be forgiven if not forgotten. It wouldn't even be so hard. He'd have a bath, make sure he looked presentable and then go over to Byakuya's home just before 6am, so that he wouldn't be late on his first day...

Renji groaned.

6am? On a Saturday? That meant he couldn't even celebrate the continuance of his existence by having a drink or ten with his friends tonight! Why did the man even need to get up that early on a day off? Saturday mornings were invented for sleeping in and being hung over!

It really was a cruel punishment, Renji thought, cursing under his breath the rest of the way home.


End file.
